World Breaking News

South Africa hit by new crisis after match-fixing revelations Reuters

March 21, 2017

The snow-covered landscape is reflected in a logo in front of FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann CAPE TOWN South African football was embroiled in another scandal on Monday when FIFA said the national team’s World Cup qualifying win over Senegal last year was fixed, leaving the legacy of the country’s hosting of the 2010 finals in more turmoil. In banning Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey for life, world soccer’s governing body said the outcome of South Africa’s 2-1 home win in African Group D in November had been contrived. The official was found guilty of unlawfully influencing the match result after handing South Africa a soft penalty for handball just before halftime and allowing a second goal in controversial circumstances from a quickly taken free-kick soon after in a qualifying match for the 2018 finals in Russia. Who had influenced Lamptey to help South Africa win the match was not addressed in FIFA’s statement on Monday. However, the world ruling body did say: “Further information concerning the South Africa v. Senegal match in question will be provided once the decision becomes final and binding”. FIFA officials, who did not want to be named, told Reuters match-fixing was uncovered following irregular betting activity. South Africa’s Football Association (SAFA) did not respond on Monday to questions about the match-fixing allegations. The revelation follows allegations that South Africa paid a $10 million bribe to help secure the rights to the 2010 World Cup and that officials were duped by…more detail

HAMBURG/BERLIN Ex-Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) Chairman Ferdinand Piech, who resigned after a showdown with former chief executive Martin Winterkorn, has refused to testify to German lawmakers investigating a possible government's role in the VW emissions scandal, according to his lawyer. Piech, also VW's former CEO who spearheaded the carmaker's global expansion, gave testimony to lawyers of U.S. law firm Jones Day last April and to German prosecutors in Braunschweig near VW's Wolfsburg headquarters in December, his lawyer said. "These comments were solely directed at the inquirers of Jones Day and the prosecutors respectively. They were not directed at the public media," Piech's…... [read more]

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Surging gang violence in swaths of northern Mexico is likely due to an internal power struggle within the fractured Sinaloa cartel, Defense Minister Salvador Cienfuegos said on Saturday. Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the powerful boss of the Sinaloa cartel, was extradited to the United States last month and is currently awaiting trial in a New York jail. Ciefuegos told reporters in Culiacan, the capital of northwestern Sinaloa state, that the leadership vacuum following Guzman's extradition is likely behind a recent spike in violence. "In the absence of their leader, (rival factions) are fighting over who will…... [read more]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States detected a North Korean test-launch of either a medium- or intermediate-range ballistic missile, the U.S. military's Strategic Command said on Saturday, adding the missile did not pose a threat to North America. "U.S. Strategic Command systems detected and tracked what we assess was a North Korean missile launch at 4:55 p.m. CST," spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Martin O'Donnell said. "The launch of a medium- or intermediate-range ballistic missile occurred near the northwestern city of Kusong." Strategic Command said it tracked the missile over North Korea and into the Sea of Japan. It did not state…... [read more]

LONDON Manchester City's Argentine goalkeeper Willy Caballero has warned against complacency at Bournemouth on Monday as his team try to leap back into second place in the Premier League with victory. They were edged out of the top four by Saturday's results, when Arsenal and Liverpool went above them with home wins, but City will be firm favourites on the south coast given the contrast between the two teams' recent results. Pep Guardiola's side go into the game on the back of three successive wins, scoring nine goals, whereas Bournemouth have not won in 2017. "It's going to be great…... [read more]

LIMA Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's approval rating dropped five percentage points for the second month in a row in February, as a widening graft scandal entangled his former boss, an Ipsos poll showed Sunday. Only 38 percent of Peruvians now support Kuczynski, down from a peak of 63 percent in September shortly after he took office amid promises of modernizing Peru, according to the Ipsos survey published in the local newspaper El Comercio. Kuczynski's disapproval rating climbed six percentage points to 51 percent, according to the poll of 1,291 people that had a margin of error of 2.7 percentage…... [read more]

India's spinners sent back the top three Bangladesh batsmen in the second innings of the one-off test at Hyderabad on Sunday to keep the hosts on course for victory. Chasing an improbable target of 459 in four sessions for a win, Bangladesh reached 103-3 at stumps on the fourth day of their maiden test in India, the world's top-ranked nation. Shakib Al Hasan was unbeaten on 21 for Bangladesh with Mahmudullah nine not out at the other end. Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who during the day became the fastest to reach 250 wickets in tests, dismissed Tamim Iqbal (3) and Mominul…... [read more]

left right Paramedics watch passangers re-entering the terminal building at the Helmut Schmidt airport in Hamburg, Germany February 12, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer 1/8 left right Firemenare seen outside the Helmut Schmidt airport in Hamburg, Germany February 12, 2017. The airport was closed after unknown substance was found during security check. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer 2/8 left right Passangers wait to re-enter the Helmut Schmidt airport in Hamburg, Germany February 12, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer 3/8 left right Passangers walk outside the Helmut Schmidt airport in Hamburg, Germany February 12, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer 4/8 left right A fireman is seen outside the Helmut Schmidt…... [read more]

left right German president-elect, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, receives congratulations by German Chancellor Angela Merkel after the first round of voting of the German presidential election at the Reichstag in Berlin, February 12, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch 1/8 left right German president-elect, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, receives flowers after the first round of voting of the German presidential election at the Reichstag in Berlin, February 12, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke 2/8 left right German president-elect, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, gives a speech after the first round of voting of the German presidential election at the Reichstag in Berlin, February 12, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch 3/8 left right German president-elect,…... [read more]

German tennis has responded with outrage after the United States Tennis Association made the embarrassing error of playing the Nazi-era version of Germany's national anthem during a Federation Cup tie in Hawaii. The version played included the first stanza, beginning "Deutschland, Deutschland uber alles," which was used as Nazi propaganda. It was dropped after World War Two. "I thought it was the epitome of ignorance, and I've never felt more disrespected in my whole life, let alone in Fed Cup," Germany's Andrea Petkovic was reported as saying, adding that she considered walking off court before the singles match against Alison…... [read more]